Andersen’s ‘unreal’ shutout in Game 4 helps Hurricanes avoid elimination

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Frederik Andersen was perfect when the Carolina Hurricanes needed him the most.

Andersen was reinserted as the starting goalie for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final after losing that job to Pyotr Kochetkov for Game 3. He made 20 saves in a 3-0 win against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday that kept Carolina's season alive.

It was his second shutout this postseason and the fifth of his career in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Panthers still lead the best-of-7 series 3-1, but the Hurricanes now have Andersen coming off a shutout going into Game 5 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).

"I thought he dazzled," Carolina captain Jordan Staal said. "I remember a couple (shots) went by me and I was like, 'Oh no,' and he made some great saves. I thought the guys did a great job of getting in lanes more. I think we can still do it more, but I thought Freddie was obviously great. When a goaltender steps up and gets a shutout for you, it's what you need. He's got to continue to play well, and we've got to continue to play well in front of him."

Andersen's performance in Game 4 is why coach Rod Brind'Amour went back to the 35-year-old goalie after giving Kochetkov a shot in Game 3.

At that point it was hard to argue with Brind'Amour. Andersen gave up nine goals on 36 shots in the first five periods of the series before Kochetkov relieved him for the third period of Game 2, a 5-0 loss.

It wasn't all his fault, but he wasn't close to being the goalie who went 7-2 with a 1.36 goals-against average and .937 save percentage in the first two rounds.

Kochetkov, though, with almost no help from the skaters in front of him, did not deliver in Game 3. He gave up six goals on 28 shots in a 6-2 loss that put Carolina down 3-0 in the series.

So, it was back to Andersen for Game 4, with the season on the line.

"He looked confident, but he always does," Brind'Amour said. "He doesn't throw himself around. He's always in control, and there was some real tough shots that looked easy tonight, and that's how you know that he's on."

Andersen didn't want to discuss how he felt about losing the starting job to Kochetkov in Game 3.

"It's not about that," he said. "It's about the team and trying to put the best lineup on the ice that they feel is going to get the job done. I'm just ready when I'm called upon and glad to be able to play tonight."

Andersen also didn't want to compare how he felt Monday to how he felt in Games 1 and 2.

"Tough to really tell," he said. "I haven't thought too much about that. You try to do your best to prepare and do your best to make the save in front of you at that moment. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't, but I just tried to battle back and respond to the last time I was in the net, try to be as good as I can."

He was perfect, which is pretty much what the Hurricanes needed considering Logan Stankoven's goal at 10:45 of the second period was the lone goal in the game until Sebastian Aho's empty-netter at 17:49. Jordan Staal added an empty-net goal at 18:15 for the 3-0 final.

"Freddie was unreal," Aho said. "I felt he saw every puck, and every puck somehow looked like an easy save and it definitely wasn't."

There will be no debating about who should be in Carolina's net at the start of Game 5.

"Love playing with this team," Andersen said. "So, happy to get in and get another shot in two days."